Miley Cyrus sued for copyright over 'Flowers,' accused of plagiarizing Bruno Mars song

By Chris Williams
Published  September 17, 2024 3:50pm CDT
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Bruno Mars of Silk Sonic performs onstage during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)/Miley Cyrus attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards at …

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The Brief 

    • Miley Cyrus has been sued for copyright infringement over her song "Flowers," which is alleged to resemble Bruno Mars' 2013 hit.
    • Tempo Music Investments claims "Flowers" copies melodies and lyrics from Mars' song.
    • The lawsuit cites sheet music and lyrics as evidence, seeking an unspecified financial settlement.

LOS ANGELES - Singer and actress Miley Cyrus has been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit regarding her hit song "Flowers," for which she recently won a Grammy. 

Tempo Music Investments filed the complaint in a California federal court against Cyrus and several other individuals, businesses and entities. 

In the complaint, Tempo accused Cyrus' song of being too close to Bruno Mars' song "When I Was Your Man," which was released in 2013. Tempo owns a share of the copyright for Mars' song. 

"Immediately upon the release of ‘Flowers,’ the public recognized the striking similarities between the song and ‘When I Was Your Man'," the complaint stated. 

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Michael Pollack, one of the co-authors of "Flowers," denied the accusation in a March 2023 interview with Billboard, according to court documetns. 

Tempo provided sheet music and lyrics from both songs in court documents to support its claim that the two are similar.  (U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western Division)
Tempo provided sheet music and lyrics from both songs in court documents to support its claim that the two are similar.  (U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western Division)

The lawsuit claims Cyrus' song "duplicates numerous melodic, harmonic, and lyrical elements of "When I Was Your Man," including the melodic pitch design and sequence of the verse."

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Tempo even provided the court with examples of sheet music from both songs as evidence of their similarities. 

The company also posted lyrics from both songs to support their claims that the two songs are similarly written.

Tempo is seeking an unspecified amount of money. 

The Source

  • The details and images for this story were obtained from a lawsuit filed by Tempo Music Investments, LLC in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. This story was reported from Los Angeles.